In commercial chlor-alkali cells used for the production of chlorine, hydrogen and sodium hydroxide from brine, asbestos diaphragms are ordinarily used as anion exchange membranes between the anolyte and catholyte compartments.
Diaphragms of this sort are generally satisfactory, but their electrical resistance is high and chlor-alkali cells which use such diaphragms therefore require more electric current for operation than is desirable.